The Branch Group, Inc., headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, is an employee-owned construction company whose work touches all aspects of the built environment through its subsidiaries: Branch & Associates, Inc., Branch Civil, Inc., and G. J. Hopkins, Inc. The Branch Group portfolio includes building infrastructure from highways and bridges, Higher Education, Healthcare, and Government, to the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems that make a facility operational. One such project in 2003 is the above-pictured VT KnowledgeWorks office building, constructed by Branch & Associates. In 2015, Engineering News-Record Top 400 List ranked The Branch Group as the #176th largest construction company in the United States, with 2016 revenues of $393.3 million and a workforce of over 847 employees.

The VT KnowledgeWorks Global Partnership Event offers university students and faculty from all over the world a chance to collaborate, form partnerships, build their global networks, and congregate in Washington, D.C., and Roanoke-Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. The Global Partnership is an ongoing cooperative association of regions building permanent social and academic relationships with each other, for mutual long-term advantage. Members of the partnership gather annually during a week-long Global Partnership event hosted by VT KnowledgeWorks, Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Virginia Tech, and citizens and businesses of the Roanoke-Blacksburg region.2016 Winners: The grand prize of $25,000 was awarded to Park & Diamond, Inc., of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. Read more about the winning teams! Read about the 2016 event outcomes and publicity.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, August 24, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, to get a seat at the Global Student Entrepreneurship Challenge. Attendance is free on a first-come, first-served availability, and the event will include a one-hour break to get lunch on your own. Details here.

VT KnowledgeWorks encourages and enables creative entrepreneurship world-wide, through innovative curriculum, local business resource centers, and a global network of cooperating regions, all focused on three essential contributors to success: clear understanding of fundamental business principles; access to timely, relevant information; and meaningful personal and corporate relationships. It is a subsidiary of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, supported by the continuing confidence and enthusiasm of its clients, sponsors and friends, both corporate and individual. Its world headquarters is in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.